I'm Still Me
by wizardsfanatic10
Summary: Max Russo is gay, and has known it for awhile. With his Mom passing away and everything else that's been going on, he doesn't know what to do. If he tells his family he's gay, what will they do? There's also this guy that he likes, but he can't tell him. This story follows the struggles that Max faces dealing with the fact that he's gay and he has to live with it.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone :) now that my story 'Unlikely Romance' is almost over, I decided to make this one. I hope you enjoy and please read the note at the bottom.**

Max's fragile body shook, he didn't know if he could take his dad's reaction. But it was too late to back out now, he supposed.

"I'm gay, Dad." He closed his eyes once he said it, not wanting to see his dad's face, not wanting to hear his dad's reaction. He really just wanted to flash out of there and forget that this ever happened.

Jerry's face turned to confusion. "You're…" His words were echoey and distant in Max's ears. He didn't want to hear his dad say it. "Gay." Max finished for him.

Jerry stood still for a moment before his face of confusion turned to one of anger. "You're gay!"

Max's body trembled. He knew his dad would react like this. "You're a faggot!" He breathed the words slowly, paining Max even more.

Jerry's emotions started to take control of him and he chuckled, though not amused at all. "You're gay. You're gay. Where did I go wrong?" He threw his hands in the air miserably, then he shook his head. "No. This isn't my fault. This is your fault." He pointed an accusing finger at Max's face. He was still yelling pretty loudly, and Max was terrified beyond words.

But he had to show his dad how he felt. No matter the consequences. "You think I want to be gay?" He paused for a moment. "Hell no! But I am, and I'm sorry you had to find out like this but it's the truth." Max was in tears. "I'm still the same person." He said the last line weakly, choking on his tears.

Jerry shook his head. "I don't care what the hell you think! You chose to be gay, and I'm not okay with that. I hate you; I don't want you to live under my roof anymore. Pack your bags and move out. Now."

_Okay, let me back up. You're probably wondering how the hell any of this even happened. And to be honest, the story probably won't make sense to you unless I tell you. So let me start at the beginning._

Max was sitting in his 11th grade trigonometry class, bored out of his mind. He was checking out the guy a few seats to the left of him. Man, he would tap that…

"Mr. Russo?" Mr. Fergus glared over at Max before Max straightened up. "I'd appreciate it if you would pay attention to my lesson." The class snickered and Max slightly blushed.

"Oh, right. Sorry Mr. Fergus." Mr. Fergus sighed and rolled his eyes before continuing his speech. Max naturally zoned out of it and started thinking again.

It sucked to be gay. Like, really bad. He couldn't tell anyone how he felt, because they would all judge him for it. He could check out guys as much as he wanted but he never had a chance with them. At least straight guys had a chance with the girls they daydreamed about. Max would never have a chance.

Plus, his whole family was pretty churchy, and were _completely _anti-gay. Max had to pretend like he was anti-gay too in order to keep up his act. But here's what Max decided.

He didn't want to be gay. He would give literally anything to not be gay. It wasn't a choice, it was just the way he was. His family and most of the world didn't seem to realize that.

That's why he would never tell anyone, ever. He loved his family, but he didn't know if they would love him if he told them he was gay.

He could never be himself; his whole life was basically an act.

Max was still thinking when a loud voice boomed over the intercom.

"Please send Max Russo to the office." The whole class oohed.

"What'd you do this time?" His best friend Randy smirked at him. Max punched him in the arm before smirking. It was true. Recently, Max had been getting into a lot of trouble. It was just hard dealing with the fact that he was gay and he couldn't change it.

"I'm not sure. I guess I'll find out." If Max had to come out of the closet to anyone, it would be Randy. He thought Randy would still accept him, but he wasn't willing to take the chance.

Max walked down towards the office, and was surprised to see his father there along with Alex and Justin.

Justin had recently moved out to a small apartment. It was about thirty minutes away for the Russo's house. Alex still lived at home.

"Guys, what are you doing here?" He turned to Justin. "Aren't you supposed to be at college?" Then he noticed everyone had tear stained faces. "Guys? What's going on? Why are you all here?"

No one answered him for a few moments until his father cleared his throat. "Your Mom was in—" He stopped and started crying again. Alex looked at Max. "Mom died in a car accident Max." Max stood frozen for a moment trying to let it sink in. His mom died in a car accident.

No. That didn't make sense. How could she have died? He just saw her yesterday. She made spaghetti for dinner and they had chocolate ice cream for dessert. She asked him how his day at school was and he said it was fine. She made him wear a jacket when he went on a walk…

But they weren't kidding. They were all a mess again and tears were streaming down all of their faces. It was true. Max's mom was dead.

_My mom is dead…_ Max thought, and then he burst out crying. He stood there crying and crying with the rest of his family. Justin wrapped him in a hug, and Alex and Jerry joined in. They were hugging and crying for awhile until they heard the bell ring.

They slowly drifted apart, not wanting to, but knowing they had to.

"I'll see you when you get home, okay Max?" Alex quickly wiped away a tear off her face.

"Yeah, I'll be there too Max." Justin was trying to be tough but you could tell he was about to lose it.

"Okay guys." Max walked away and hurried to the boys' bathroom. He looked in the mirror. He looked like a wreck.

He fixed himself up a little bit and headed to his next class.

Randy sat down next to him. "Hey, what was that about, man? You were gone for awhile."

Max shook his head. He couldn't talk about it right then. "I'll tell you later Randy."

Randy was still curious but nodded, understanding Max was not in the mood.

Max hurried home to sulk in his bed. Not only was he gay, like that wasn't problem enough, but his mom had died too. His life was just fantastic.

**Okay, so here's the deal. I'm a gay, in the closet guy. I am Max. I mean, not literally of course but in the story he kinda represents me if you know what I mean. My mom isn't dead, thankfully. I added that to add to the drama. But I am gay and am scared of telling anyone for fear of them not loving me anymore. So yeah, I'm hoping I'll have the courage someday to tell people I'm gay, but I really don't know. I want this story to be an inspiration to people. So here's what I'm going to do. If you're in a position like me, these are some songs that have helped me get through it all. The song this time is "People Like Us" by Kelly Clarkson. Anyways, feel free to leave a review. I'll update soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys,thanks for all the nice and encouraging PM's you sent me. Also, thanks to Lexi and the guest that reviewed for your review. You guys make my day. Here's chapter 2.**

1 Year Later:

"Oh Randy! Randy…" Randy was currently on top of Max, thrusting his long dick into Max's tight ass.

Randy smirked. "You like that?"

"I love that!" Randy thrust deeper and-

"Max wake up!" Max awoke in a sweat to see his dad standing before him. "You're gonna be late for school."

Max sighed. He hated when these dreams ended. "Sorry, I was just having a really good dream."

"Yeah, well all good things must come to an end." Jerry stopped when he realized what he'd just said.

"Sorry Max, you know I just meant-"

"Yeah Dad I know. I gotta get to school." Max hurried to his bathroom and shut the door.

Jerry sighed. He needed to be more careful about what he said.

Max threw on some clothes and grabbed his tennis shoes before walking out the door. He walked to school, wishing he had a car the whole way. But he couldn't buy a car because he only got paid minimum wage at his job at the local grocery store. He sighed and walked into the school, to see Randy greet him.

"Hey man." He greeted happily.

"Hey Randy." Max repeated tiredly. It was a long walk to school.

"So you wanna hang out this weekend? You can spend the night at my place. Or I could spend the night at yours?"

Max sighed, and Randy's head dropped. "You don't want to? Again?" For the last few months whenever Randy would ask to spend the night, Max would always make up an excuse as to why he couldn't. The truth was, it was awkward for Max. He had developed feelings for Randy, and seeing Randy shirtless sleeping in his bed didn't help much.

"It's not that I don't want to Randy; it's just-"

"Save it Max. You've been acting really strange lately. Is everything okay?"

This was his chance to tell Randy everything. But he couldn't put their relationship in jeopardy. "Everything's fine, really." Max wasn't convincing.

"Whatever dude." Randy walked away from Max muttering something that Max couldn't decipher.

Max groaned and went on to face the rest of the day, which was pretty much just a blur. He couldn't stop thinking about Randy. He didn't tell him he was gay because he didn't want to lose Randy… But that was kind of already happening.

Still, Max couldn't bring himself to tell Randy. He walked home alone and was pulled in by his father. "Time for wizards lessons, son." Max groaned and went into the wizards' lair with Jerry. Alex was there also.

"Dad, why do I have to learn this stuff if Justin doesn't have to?" Alex groaned, not looking up from her phone.

"Your brother already knows all this stuff." Jerry replied calmly.

"My brother is a freaking dork." Alex replied. Jerry ignored her.

"Today we're learning the truth spell." He said excitedly.

"I already learned that like three years ago." Alex yawned.

"Yeah, me too." Max agreed.

Jerry held his hand up. "This spell is different. It makes the user tell their biggest secret."

Max's eyes grew wide and his mouth went dry. He couldn't let his dad use that on him.

"Max, try it out on yourself. The spell is 'the way it is, they keep it; make them tell their biggest secret.'"

Max formed a plan in his head. "Okay." He held his wand out. Except he held it backwards, so it was facing Alex.

"The way it is, they keep it; make them tell their biggest secret." The blue light hit Alex and she shrieked. "I care what other people think of me; I just pretend I don't." She glared at Max. "Thanks a lot."

Max grinned stupidly. "Oops, wrong way." Normally Jerry would have passed this off as Max being Max but he kind of wanted to hear Max's biggest secret.

"Alex, do the spell on Max."

"What! No!" Max argued.

Alex and Jerry looked at him like he was crazy, and Alex did the spell anyway.

"The way it is, they keep it; make them tell their biggest secret."

Alex's wand shot out a thin red light that hit Max in the chest. "I'm gay." Max stated. Then he realized what he said and panicked.

Max's fragile body shook, he didn't know if he could take his dad's reaction. But it was too late to back out now, he supposed.

"I'm gay, Dad." He closed his eyes once he said it, not wanting to see his dad's face, not wanting to hear his dad's reaction. He really just wanted to flash out of there and forget that this ever happened.

Jerry's face turned to confusion. "You're…" His words were echoey and distant in Max's ears. He didn't want to hear his dad say it. "Gay." Max finished for him.

Jerry stood still for a moment before his face of confusion turned to one of anger. "You're gay!"

Max's body trembled. He knew his dad would react like this. "You're a faggot!" He breathed the words slowly, paining Max even more.

Jerry's emotions started to take control of him and he chuckled, though not amused at all. "You're gay. You're gay. Where did I go wrong?" He threw his hands in the air miserably, then he shook his head. "No. This isn't my fault. This is your fault." He pointed an accusing finger at Max's face. He was still yelling pretty loudly, and Max was terrified beyond words.

But he had to show his dad how he felt. No matter the consequences. "You think I want to be gay?" He paused for a moment. "Hell no! But I am, and I'm sorry you had to find out like this but it's the truth." Max was in tears. "I'm still the same person." He said the last line weakly, choking on his tears.

Jerry shook his head. "I don't care what the hell you think! You chose to be gay, and I'm not okay with that. I hate you; I don't want you to live under my roof anymore. Pack your bags and move out. Now."

Alex spoke up. "What the hell, Dad? He's still your son. Just because he's gay does not give you the right to say you hate him and make him move out."

Max mouthed a thank you to Alex.

Jerry was still fuming. "He's not my son. I do not love him. How could he act like that? You don't love him either Alex."

Alex stood up. "I do love him Dad. And I can't believe you're letting your homophobia take the place of your son."

Jerry wouldn't hear of it. "He can't live here anymore. It's final."

"But dad… I don't have a place to live." Max was crying.

"You'll find something. Goodbye. I don't want to see you here after tonight." And with that, Jerry left the room.

**So yup, there it is. How many of you thought Randy and Max were actually having sex? lol **

**So the encouraging song for this update is 'Same Love' by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Seriously an amazing song.**

**So yeah. see you guys at chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to the guest that reviewed. It means a lot. Sorry i haven't kik'd you, been pretty busy with crap, but I will, promise. Anyways, here's chapter 3. :)**

"Max!" Alex ran up to a sobbing Max and wrapped him in a hug. Max couldn't stop crying.

"Hey, it's okay Max. It's okay." She soothed. She couldn't believe her father. How could he say that to his own son?

"Thanks for not hating me too." Max sniffed looking at Alex.

"I will never hate you Max. I love you so much. I've never been homophobic like Dad and-" She stopped. Max knew what she was going to say but he acted like he didn't. "The rest of the family." She corrected quickly.

Max smiled at Alex. "It's really not a choice to be gay. Heck, I would give anything to not be gay."

"Max, it doesn't matter what Dad thinks. You're you, and that's the only person you have to be, alright?"

Max nodded his head. He wiped away the few remaining tears from his eyes and headed upstairs to his room. Alex followed.

They arrived to a heap of clothes strewn everywhere, a mountain load of soda and junk food on Max's dresser, and some random knick knacks lying aimlessly on the floor.

"Good thing I tidied up in here. It'll be easier to find everything I need to pack." Max managed to grin.

Alex rolled her eyes. "That's my Max." And she walked out of the room.

Max grabbed a few suitcases from his closet and packed six t-shirts, three sweaters, a few pairs of socks, some underwear, a pair of pajamas, tennis shoes, and a jacket. Those were all the necessities. Next he grabbed his phone, his charger, his favorite stuffed animal that no one knew he still had, a blanket, and a pillow. He had to get another suitcase.

After all of the bags were packed, he went to see his dad. One last time.

He knocked on the door and walked in before his dad could say otherwise.

"I don't want to see you. Get out of my house."

Max was fighting tears again. "I'm leaving, don't worry." Max held up his suitcases. "But hear me when I say this. You're going to regret this. You may think you don't love me because I'm gay; but you do. I am the same person I was and I always will be that person." With that, Max walked out the door and closed the door leaving a surprised and slightly guilty Jerry sitting blankly.

Jerry shook his head. _I don't love him. He's a faggot. _He thought as he stared out the window.

Max walked out the door and groaned when he realized it was raining. He needed to find a place to stay. He grabbed his phone and looked through his contacts.

He scrolled until he saw Randy's name and sighed. He sent him a message.

_**hey I can come over after all. Your house all weekend? **_Max sent feeling reassured that at least he had somewhere to stay for a few days. His phone vibrated.

_**yeah man, come over anytime.**_ Max smiled and headed towards Randy's house. It was only a couple miles, but by the time he got there he was still soaking wet.

"Dude, come in." Randy greeted pulling Max inside. "Why are you so wet? Your dad didn't drive you?" Max tried to fight the memories that were still playing in his head.

"No. He's at a sandwich convention." Max replied smoothly, thankful that Alex taught him how to lie better.

"Ah." Randy replied. "So what do you wanna do?"

_Besides have sex with you? I don't know. _Max thought grimly but shook it off. "I don't care, man. Whatever you want."

Randy nodded and they both went up to his room. "Dude, it's hot in here." Max complained fanning himself with his hand.

"Yeah it is." Randy agreed. He took off his shirt revealing his six pack and muscular tone. Max cursed in his mind.

_Why did I have to say it was hot? _

Randy stared at him. "Aren't you gonna take your shirt off, man?"

Max groaned inwardly but took off his shirt.

"Dang Max." Randy smirked. "You got some muscle." Randy walked up to Max and felt his biceps. "The chicks must dig that."

The touch of Randy caused a certain part of Max to start growing, if you know what I mean.

"Is that why you've been so distracted lately?" Randy looked at Max. "You having some fun with the girls?" Randy eyes Max suspiciously before Max started laughing and shook his head.

"I'm not a douche bag Randy."

Randy smirked before turning serious again. "Then what's up? Why do you act so weird all the time?"

Max felt his face flush red. It was all too much. He got kicked out of the house. The guy he liked was standing two feet in front of him, shirtless, and he just asked why he was acting weird.

"It doesn't matter Randy!" Max yelled surprisingly loud. "What do you care? Me telling you won't change anything!" Max was fuming and then he saw Randy's face.

A mix of surprise and confusion. "It might." Randy replied calmly. "At least I can try to help. I'm your best friend Max. I deserve to know these things."

Max shook in terror when he realized what he was about to do. He couldn't do it. But he had to. But he couldn't. But he had to.

Max forced himself to look Randy in the eye.

"Randy?"

"What?" Randy was desperate to hear what Max had to say.

"I'm gay."

**Did you think he would tell? I wasn't going to do it yet, but I thought, why not? Anyways, the song of encouragement this update is 'Brave' by Sara Bareilles. It's a really good song. :)**

**Have a good week guys.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews, they mean a lot. Shoutout to otaku0001, kelper142, and Alice for reviewing. Here's chapter 4.**

"You're… Gay." Randy stumbled on the words bunching his face up, confused. "You mean you like guys?"

Max managed to crack a grin. "That's what gay means Randy."

"Well yeah, but…" Randy trailed off. Max was terrified. If Randy stopped being his friend because of this… He didn't think he could go on.

"That's okay." Randy decided.

Max couldn't believe it. "What?"

"It's okay, man. I mean, it's a little surprising… But it's you, so it's okay."

Max's face flushed in relief. "Dude you don't have any idea how much it means for you to say that. I was so worried about your reaction."

Randy was still processing the information, but he smiled slightly. "I'm your best friend. This isn't gonna change that."

"Thanks." Max was still greatly relieved and he hugged Randy. Randy pushed himself away from Max.

Max's face of relief turned to anger. "Why'd you push me away? Just because I'm gay it means I can't hug you?"

"Max, give me some time. It's kind of awkward, honestly."

"Why? You wouldn't have had any problem with me hugging you five minutes ago. It's just because I'm gay."

" No, Max, I-"

"Save it. You're just like my Dad."

Randy gave Max a questioning look and approached him slowly. "Your dad knows?"

Max couldn't help it. He burst into tears. "My dad kicked me out of the house because of it."

Randy's jaw dropped. "Aw, Max; I'm so sorry."

"No." Max wiped away his tears. "You're reacting the same way."

Randy rolled his eyes. "Max, it's a lot to take in. Look, I can hug you." Randy's shirtless body met Max's in a tight hug. They stayed together for about ten seconds before Randy pulled away. "See? Give me a chance bro."

Max nodded weakly. "Right. I'm sorry. It's just I'm so worried about not being accepted and… I don't know. It's hard."

Randy nodded. "I'm sorry you have to go through this dude. It must suck."

"Yeah, it does." Max remarked meekly. "But I'll get through it. You know the worst part though? I can't tell anyone. I mean, my dad, Alex, and you are the only people that know, and I don't want to tell anyone else. I want to live a normal life where I can walk around and not be judged by people. But if I do that… I'll never actually be able to pleasure myself with someone I'm actually attracted to. I have to pretend I'm straight."

Randy felt kind of awkward, and tried to change the subject. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to, man."

"Thanks for the offer," Max noted. "But that'll gain too much suspicion. Your parents will wonder why I'm here all the time. I think I'm gonna ask Justin to live with him for awhile."

"Okay, that's cool." Randy returned. "What do you want to do the rest of the weekend?"

"I don't care, really. Anything that'll distract me from my life."

"Okay." Randy thought for a moment. "How about we go to that arcade on Waverly Place that we used to go to all the time when we were little?"

Max smiled as the memories of those days flooded in. "Yeah, that sounds like fun."

"Okay, let's go." Max and Randy threw on some shirts and walked outside into the cold rain, hurrying into Randy's car.

"You're so lucky you have a car, man." Max noted as he shivered as the coldness left his body.

"I know, right? I didn't even have to do anything. When my great grandma died when I was like two, she gave our family most of the money in her bank account and I used mine to get this car. It's not a bright red 2013 Chevy, but it's not bad."

Randy pulled out of the driveway and drove to the arcade. When they arrived they walked into the building.

"Wow." Max breathed. "It's just like it was."

"Yeah, that's incredible." Randy agreed. "Let's go play our favorite game." They played for a few more hours. The games weren't as fun as they used to be but Max and Randy still enjoyed them immensely because of the memories.

When they were finally back Max sighed. "Well that was a success. I forgot about everything for awhile. But now I gotta check back into reality. I'm gonna call Justin."

"What are you gonna say?" Randy said. "If I were you I wouldn't tell him you were gay by phone. At least do that in person."

Max sighed. "You're right. I'll just call and tell him I need to meet up with him." Randy nodded as Max pulled out his cell phone.

It rang a few times and soon Justin picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Justin, it's me." Max was nervous.

"What's up, Max?"

"Um…" Max gulped. "I need to talk up to you. Can I come up to your place?"

"Uh, sure Max. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, of course it is…" Max was unconvincing.

"Max, tell me what's going on." Justin urged.

"It's not okay." Max groaned. "I'll talk to you once I get there, okay?"

"Okay…" Max hung up leaving a confused Justin wondering about what was up with Max.

"Okay, I'm just gonna drive up there and see Justin." Max decided, walking out the door. He turned around. "Wait… I don't have a car. Can you drive me?" Max looked at Randy pleadingly.

Randy shook his head apologetically. "I would, man, really, but I have to study with Julie tonight."

Max raised his eyebrows. "Julie? You're seeing her?" Randy blushed and Max laughed.

"No I'm not dating her. We're just studying."

"Right." Max stretched the word dramatically. He turned serious again. "Okay, but how am I gonna get to Justin's?"

"You can take my parents old car. It's in the old garage behind our house. They won't even notice it's gone probably."

"Thanks, you're a life saver. I'll bring it back tomorrow, promise." Max replied before hurrying out the door.

He grabbed the car and turned the key. The car sputtered to life. He drove to Justin's place and got out of the car. Justin's apartment was on the third floor. He knocked on the door.

"Max!" Justin answered. "What's wrong?"

"Can I come in?" Max noted tiredly.

"Yeah, of course." Max sat on the couch. "So what's going on? Tell me."

Max took a deep breath. _Here we go again._

**There you go! I hope you liked this chapter and please review. Special shoutout to kelper142 because he asked. :) and his review made my day to know someone like me read my story. :) Thanks a lot. Anyways, the song for this update is Gold by Britt Nicole. see you at chapter 5.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the longish wait. I have been so freaking busy. Thanks to tmnt2012rocks, and otaku0001 for reviewing. This chap is kinda short, and I'm sorry for that. But again, been so busy lately. Enjoy.**

Justin stared at him dumbfounded. Max had just finished explaining the situation.

"Please say something." Max begged looking into Justin's eyes.

"I-" Justin started. "I don't know what to say."

"Are you mad at me now, too?" Max quivered softly.

"No, no. Of course not. You're my brother and I love you. This is just… Surprising, that's all." Max's face flushed in relief and Justin paced around the room, as was his custom when he was thinking.

"Where are you gonna stay?" Justin looked over at Max.

"That's kind of why I came here…" Max grinned sheepishly at Justin.

"No." Justin shook his head. "No. Max! You know I want to help you, but I can't! I can't pay for an extra person. I don't have enough money."

"Justin, I'll pay for my own food. I just need somewhere to live."

"But…" Justin fidgeted nervously. "I can't handle the responsibility… And-"

"What responsibility?" Max challenged. Justin sighed and Max continued trying to convince Justin.

"Look, man. I can take care of myself. I'll just be here for shelter. You won't even know I'm here."

Justin paced back and forth contemplating. "Fine." He answered evenly. "You can stay here. I can't let you stay on the streets."

"Thank you so much, Justin!" Max ran and gave Justin a hug.

Justin patted him on the back. "No problem, buddy." Even though it was most definitely going to be a problem.

"How many people know?" Justin looked towards Max questioningly.

"You, Dad, Alex and Randy." Max stated.

"You told Randy?" Justin was surprised. "How did he take it?"

"Pretty well." Max answered. "We're still best friends as far as I know. He was surprised but that can only be expected."

"Yeah, well. It's getting kind of late. We both have school tomorrow."

"Justin?" Max looked forward. "I can drive to school tomorrow, but after that I won't have a car anymore. I'm just borrowing Randy's parents' old car."

Justin bunched his face up before sighing. "We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay Max?"

"Okay." Max watched as Justin started to walk away. "Thanks for not hating me." Justin turned around in shock.

"Max, you thought I might hate you?"

"Well, I mean… It was an initial thought, I guess. I don't know. After the way Dad reacted I was expecting the worst."

"Well don't." Justin stated harshly. "Dad's being stupid and illogical. The fact that he could say half of that dumb ass shit about you just makes me wanna-" He stopped. "Sorry Max, but it makes me angry. He's being uncaring and he deserves to feel bad about it." He turned around. "See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Max responded as Justin walked out.

Man, was Justin pissed! Like Max seriously thought that if his father had been standing there, Justin would have punched him in the face. Hard. With a brick. On fire. And that wasn't even an exaggeration.

As mad as he was at his dad, he still loved him, and he hoped Justin wouldn't do anything stupid. Whatever though, tonight he was gonna forget about everything and sleep….

Justin was furious. How could his own father say that to Max. He deserved to die and rot in hell. Forever.

Justin let out a breath. No, that wasn't true. He loved his father… But he couldn't let him get away with hurting Max like that. He called his father.

"Hi, Justin. Is everything okay?"

"No, in fact… Nothing is okay."

Jerry was startled. "Justin…"

"Shut up dad. Just shut up."

Jerry couldn't believe his son was talking to him like this.

"You're shutting Max out of your life just because Max is being who he is. That's not okay. So here's the deal, Dad. As long as your unfairly shutting Max out of your life, I'm doing the same to you."

And he slammed the phone down.

**So there you go. :) Song of encouragement is 'Somebody' by Bridget Mendler. Have a good week guys. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! So thanks to emotionaldreamer101, tmnt 2012 rocks, and R5XRauraxRydellingtonxRockliff for reviewing. Here's chapter 6. :)**

Max groaned as an alarm woke him up at 6:00. His hand searched for the snooze button. Wait, a second, where was his alarm clock? And where was he?

Oh yeah, he was at Justin's. But what was that irritating sound? He managed to open his eyes and he searched around. His phone.

_Why the hell is someone calling me at 6 AM?_

"Hello?" Max stated groggily. He wanted to go back asleep.

"Hey, Max it's Randy."

"Randy?" Max rolled his eyes. "Why are you waking me up at six in the morning? I don't have to get up for another hour."

"Sorry Max but I needed to talk to you before school." Randy replied honestly.

"Okay, what's up?" Max was still struggling with his sleepiness, but was slowly recovering.

"I just wanted to ask you how you were gonna handle… things… today."

"What do you mean?" Max responded, even though he was pretty sure he already knew.

"I mean, are you gonna tell people now? I mean, are you gonna come out to everyone?"

Max sighed. "This is way too deep of a conversation for this early."

"Max, I'm serious, okay? I care about you and I don't want you to hide who you are."

"Dude, I understand and appreciate your concern, but I don't really have much of a choice."

"Yes, Max. You do have a-"

"Okay, let me rephrase that. I don't have a choice if I don't wanna be judged and made fun of by everyone."

Randy was silent.

"You know how unacceptive people are? You're gay, you're a target. You're gay, you're a loser. You're gay, you're not socially accepted. I can't let that happen to me. I won't let it happen to me."

Randy was quiet for a few moments before speaking up. "Okay, I understand what you mean… But I hate seeing you like this. You're my best friend, man."

"Randy you can't even begin to understand how thankful I am for you. If I couldn't tell you, I wouldn't be able to do it anymore. It's too hard. I was so scared you'd call me a fag and then stop being my friend once I told you."

"Max, how could you think that?" Randy sounded hurt.

"No offense to you, but people are weird like that. They're the nicest person in the world until they find out you're gay. Then they become such a jerk and just forget you even exist." Max hung his head. "Like my dad."

Randy hated seeing Max so sad and confused and upset, especially since he couldn't do anything about it.

"I'll always be there for you Max, I promise."

Max smiled. "Thanks Randy. I love you." Max's eyes popped out. Did he just say that. Crap. Now Randy was gonna know Max liked him… It was gonna be so awkward.

"Love you too, man. Bye." Randy hung up the phone. Max sighed in relief. Good. Randy just took the statement in the 'bro love whatever' kind of way.

_I gotta be more careful._

Max laid back down but couldn't fall asleep. He just laid there thinking about his fantasy life. Him, Randy, together. No one judging them. It would be so perfect…

"Max, wake up. You gotta get to school."

Max woke up to Justin's voice. He looked and Justin was making scrambled eggs. Max looked longingly but didn't ask Justin for any. He was supposed to pay for his own food.

"You want some eggs?" Justin could tell Max wanted some.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Max said eagerly praying Justin would say no.

"Help yourself." Justin replied.

Max made himself a plate of eggs and ate it. He then drained a glass of orange juice and put his clothes on.

"I'm gonna drive to school." Max announced to Justin.

"How are you gonna get back?" Justin asked. "Don't you have to bring the car back to Randy's?"

"Yeah… I'll just ask Randy for a ride."

"Okay. We'll think of a permanent solution tonight."

"Sounds good." Max agreed. "See you later."

"Bye." Max walked out the door and headed to the car.

When he drove into school he saw Randy waiting next to the parking spot that Max always parked in. He pulled in and got out of the car.

"Anxious to see me?" Max smirked at Randy who laughed back.

"Kinda. Need to ask you a few things."

"Like…"

"Like how did it go with Justin? I forgot to ask on the phone. I assume you were at his house, right?"

"Yeah, I was. He was pretty cool with it. He was super pissed at my dad though."

"Your dad deserves it."

"Yeah, maybe… But I still care about him, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess." Randy looked at Max. "Um, I don't wanna be awkward or anything.. But we're best friends. And best friends know everything about each other, right?"

Oh crap, was Max wrong about the 'I love you' thing? Did Randy know?

"Yeah." Max responded hesitantly.

"Well then I wanna know who you like. I mean, you know I like Julie, so what about you? What guy do you like?"

"Randy…"

"Max, I won't be weirded out, I promise. Just tell me who it is.

_It's you, you idiot! You!_

"Randy, I'm not ready to talk about that yet."

Randy hung his head and sighed dramatically. "Fine. But I'm gonna find out."

_That's what I'm afraid of. Max thought._

**Thanks for reading and please review. They make my day. The song of encouragement is 'Fix A Heart' by Demi Lovato. Thanks you guys for your continued support and love. It means a lot.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, thanks to jorjor, otaku0001, tmnt 2012 rocks, and r5xrauraxrydellingtonxrockliff for reviewing. Hope you enjoy :)**

Randy had constantly been trying to figure out who Max liked, and it was getting super annoying. Wasn't it obvious? I mean, dude, why wouldn't he tell you unless it was you? Part of Max wanted Randy to know, but most of him didn't.

If Randy knew, well, that could change everything. It was one thing knowing Max was gay; it was another knowing that he had a crush on his best friend.

How would Randy react? He'd most likely feel super awkward and wouldn't know what to say. He wouldn't leave Max, which he knew for sure now, but it would still make things super awkward.

Randy wasn't gay, Max was pretty sure of that. And telling Randy would only lead to more confusion and awkwardness. Max couldn't let that happen. No matter how many times he had to constantly discuss it with Randy…

"Why won't you tell me, Max? What's the worst that could happen?"

When Max didn't answer, Randy shook his head. "Fine. Give me a hint at least. Is he gay or straight?"

Max pondered if he should answer this question, but decided he might as well.

"He's straight." Max stated casually as he took his math book out of his locker.

"Really? Well is he in our grade? Does he go to our school?"

"I'm sorry Randy, I have to get to math." Max needed to get away for awhile.

"We have that class together, retard." Randy smiled goofily.

Max blushed. "Oh yeah, how did I forget that?"

Randy smirked. "Max, what's up? Why won't you tell me who it is? I won't care, I promise. Anyone at all and nothing between us would change."

If only Max knew if that was true.

"You just can't know Randy."

"Well at least give me another hint. Is he in our grade?"

And one by one, Randy started to find out more and more about Max's secret crush based off of these little hints, and one by one he narrowed his list.

"Hey man, I need you to drive me home." Max noted as they were at lunch.

"Why? Just take my parent's car." Randy responded.

"Are you kidding me? You told me to bring it back this afternoon."

"Yeah, well they haven't noticed yet, and I doubt they'll notice within the next few days."

Max breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks man, you're the best."

"Good, now return the favor. Tell me if I'm right."

Max rolled his eyes. "When are you gonna get over this stupid crush thing?"

"Is it Josh?"

"Josh Landall? Ew, no way."

"Okay…. Is it Lucas Gordan?"

I shook my head. "No."

"What about Jack Hart?"

"Well I wouldn't mine doing that, but-"

"Dude, gross. I don't need to know that."

Max laughed. "Sorry. No, it's not him."

Randy sighed. "Well that's just fantastic. Those were the last three people on my list and it's not them. Who could it be?"

"It doesn't matter Randy." The bell rang and Max hurried out the door.

Randy was gonna figure it out soon, Max could feel it. He needed to prepare himself.

When the day ended, he quickly went to the car before Randy could catch up to him.

He drove to Justin's house in silence and got out of the car. He took a deep breath.

"Hey." Justin said when Max walked in.

"Hey, what are you doing home so early?"

"Oh, classes got out early today. How'd you get here? Did Randy drive you?"

"No, I actually drove myself."

Justin gave a confused glance and Max continued. "Randy said I could borrow the car for a little while longer."

"Oh, sweet." Justin responded. "Now, I gotta talk to you. Breakfast this morning…"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I just haven't had time to buy any food yet. I work at the grocery store tomorrow so I'll buy some food then."

Justin sighed. "I really am sorry about this Max. I would help if I could… But I just can't afford it."

"Don't be sorry, man. You're helping me so much right now by just giving me a place to stay. That's more than I could ever ask for. I understand why you can't pay for me too.

"Oh, Max."

Justin wrapped Max in a tight hug and though Max was confused, he let him.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through this." Justin spoke softly, not breaking the hug.

"It's not your fault. Thanks for being there for me." Max whispered back.

"I love you."

"I love you too." They broke the hug and Justin went back to his room to study and Max sat on the couch. He picked up his phone and saw it was a text from Randy. He opened it, and gasped.

**I figured out who you like, dude.**

**So there you go. I hope you enjoyed and please review! Song of encouragement this week is skyscraper by demi lovato. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, so this is a pretty intense chapter, be warned. Thanks to r5xrauraxrydellingtonxrockliff, tmnt 2012 rocks, otaku0001, and cicimumi for reviewing. Here you go. :)**

No. No. This couldn't be happening. Randy couldn't know. He didn't know… Right? Max tried to relax and he texted Randy back?

**Who do you think I like then? Lol **

He sent the text and sighed. If Randy knew… He didn't know what would happen. He couldn't let himself think negatively. If only…

RING! His phone went off and he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"It's me, dude. I know it is."

I was short of breath. Randy knew. He knew everything. How did he find out? What was going to happen? Randy was probably super freaked and wouldn't talk to him again.

"Yeah." I simply replied. I couldn't stand it, being all quiet pretending everything was alright. Why wasn't Randy answering me?

"I'm so sorry Max."

Now I was confused. Why was _he _sorry?

"I don't feel the same way. I-" He sighed in desperation. "I'm not gay Max. Please get over me."

I already knew everything he said was true… But somehow hearing it from him made me cry. I couldn't help myself. I just started crying, right there on the phone.

"Max, please don't cry. This is already hard enough."

I sniffed. "I don't get it Randy. How can I feel like this about you and you not feel anything towards me?"

"Max, you're-"

"No, I don't blame you. It's not your fault you're not gay. I just don't get it. Why did this happen?"

"I don't know Max. And it really sucks. If I could be gay for you I would, honest, but I can't. You're still my best friend, and I still love you like that… But it's not more than that. I'm sorry."

I sniffed again. "It's okay Randy. You're such a great guy."

"And you are too." Randy pressed. "And someday you'll find a guy that loves you as much as you love him. But that guy is not me."

I nodded my head even though he couldn't see me. "Yeah. Hey Randy, things aren't gonna be awkward between us, right?"

"No, of course not." Randy assured me. He was wrong though. Over the next few days, things started to crash and fall. I started noticing it at school.

"Hey Randy, can I spend the night at your place this weekend?"

He looked kind of awkward, and slowly shook his head. "Sorry bro, I got… stuff."

"Stuff?" I looked at him. "Like?"

"Like, my stuff. None of your business." Then he walked away leaving me confused and kind of hurt. I mean, if he really couldn't come then that was fine… But why was he being so weird about it? I tried to pass it off as nothing and tried again the next weekend.

"Wanna hang out this weekend?"

"Sorry, can't." I looked at him. "Why, you got 'stuff?'"

He rolled his eyes. "Geez Max, stop obsessing over me. You don't have to be with me every waking moment." He walked away and I forcefully grabbed his arm.

He turned around and glared at me. "Don't touch me. God, you're so annoying. I'm not a faggot like you."

I looked at him in shock and a tear came to my eye.

His eyes widened when he realized what he said. "Max, I'm so sorry."

But I was already walking away. How could he say that about me? He was supposed to be the one that was there for me. The one that would always catch me when I was falling.

And dammit, when I grabbed his arm I wasn't being sexual. I simply wanted to get his attention. I couldn't believe I had thought he was different than everyone else, when obviously he was just as judgmental.

It's not like I wanted to like him. He couldn't seriously be blaming me for that. Randy was my friend. Randy wouldn't hurt me like that. But he did.

I was trying so hard not to cry but eventually I realized I was about to break. I ran outside into the parking lot even though I needed to get to class and got into Randy's parents' car. But that fact that it was Randy's just made me want to punch something.

I screamed in the car and pulled my hair. It hurt like hell but in the moment I didn't freaking give a crap. Randy was one of the only people I actually trusted. And he just turned on me…

How could he? How could anyone be that freaking cruel?

I didn't want Randy's charity. I got out of the parking lot and drove to Randy's house. I drove it into the old garage and ran out of the car. I ran down the street and I kept running.

Where I was going, I have no freaking idea. But I couldn't be anywhere near where I was.

I felt my phone vibrate and I angerly picked it up. It was Randy.

"What the hell do you want?" I yelled into the phone.

"Max, where are you? Look, I'm sorry about what I said, but I'm worried-"

I hung up the phone. Worried, my ass. Please. To him I was just a "faggot" who wanted to touch him.

I didn't want anything to do with Randy. God, even his freaking name just annoyed the crap out of me.

So why was I still thinking about him? I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Okay, I did like Randy. I still cared about him so much no matter what he had said.

That didn't mean I was any less pissed, though. I ran back to school but by the time I got there it was already lunch. I hurried into the lunch room and sat down, super far away from Randy.

But of course, he saw me and walked over.

_This is gonna be fun. I thought miserably._

**Man, I got emotional just writing that. Anyways, please review and if anyone needs advice or help or just wants to vent please feel free to PM me. A few people already have and I would love more. Thanks you guys. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! So thanks for 7 REVIEWS! That's crazy. That's the most i've gotten for a chapter so thank you. Shoutout to otaku0001, sega0907, menglian1408, tmnt2012rocks, cicimumi, santqna, and r5xrauraxrydellingtonxrockliff for reviewing. love you guys.**

**Warning: This chapter has material that may be considered M rated. Okay, probably, lol. If that offends you... well dont read then. I don't want to change the whole rating of the story for one measly chapter but if this goes over well... well, ill tell you after you read.**

I didn't want to forgive him that easily… But I knew I probably would anyways. He was just so god damn cute. I had to stay strong.

"Max?" I turned towards him pulling an angry face.

"What do you want?" I snapped and I could tell it hurt him and I kind of felt bad. But then I remembered what he said to me and I got even angrier. "No. Don't answer that, okay?" Tears were about to stream out again. "To you I'm just some faggot, right? You're creeped out by me, and you don't want me in your life, isn't that right?"

"Max, no. I'm so sorry about what I said. I didn't mean, it honest. I was just kind of freaked out about the idea of you liking me."

"Then why didn't you freaking tell me that before?" I yelled and a few people stared at me but I didn't care, although I did quiet down a bit.

"I am your best friend, and you don't say something like that to your best friend."

"I know. And I'm sorry. But you got to understand where I'm coming from. I'm a straight guy. And my best friend who's also a guy told me he had a crush on me. Wouldn't that freak you out a bit if you were me?"

Okay, that actually did kind of make sense. But still…

"That didn't give you an excuse to say what you said to me."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that. And I wanna make it up to you."

I rolled my eyes. "How do you plan to do that?"

He looked uncomfortable. "I'll talk to you after school, okay? Meet me at my house."

"Okay…" I nodded. I had pretty much forgiven him by that point, so I decided to go ahead and agree with him.

The rest of the day happened pretty slow. I mean, I was super curious for what Randy would do to make it up to me. The final bell finally rang, and I ran to the parking lot to look for Randy. He saw me and stopped me.

"What you need?" He asked.

"A ride." I looked at him. "I kind of got really pissed off at you and drove your parents' car back to your house."

Randy rolled his eyes. "Max, why were you being so dramatic about the whole thing?"

"Because." I stood up for myself. "You were my best friend who just called me something that you knew would hurt my feelings. You were being a douche."

Randy hung his head. "I know. I was being a douche, and I'm so sorry for that. Please forgive me?" He looked at me with those puppy dog eyes that made me melt.

"What are you gonna do to make it up to me?" I asked him. He smiled.

"You'll see." We drove to his house and got into his house. He walked up to his room and he took off his shirt.

I looked at him in awe and then in confusion. "Why are you taking off your shirt? It's not hot in here."

Randy smiled. "This is what I'm doing to make it up to you."

"Letting me see you shirtless? Oh wow." I said sarcastically. "Dude, I see you shirtless all the time."

"Yeah, but have you ever… Felt me?" Randy was trying to sound seductive and it was super cute. I looked at him in shock.

"You're gonna let me touch you?"

"Knock yourself out, bro. Here's the rule. Only your hands. You can touch anywhere."

"Even… Below your waist?" I was still in shock.

Randy nodded. "But I'm keeping my pants on."

I nodded eagerly. Where would I begin? I looked at him and put on a brave face.

"Flex." He rolled his eyes and flexed his muscles. I put my fingers over them and wrapped them in a fist. Can I say it was soooo hot? Because it was.

"Dude… Your muscles…" I moaned. I continued feeling them until I was ready to move on. I went to his nipples and squeezed. He yelped slightly and I grinned, loving the dominance.

I ran my hands over his chest and I could tell he was kind of freaked out but at the moment I didn't care. My hands ran down to his abs and… Damn… Did they feel good or what?

I pulled him close and he pulled back. "Whoa, dude. No kiss."

I shrugged. "Had to try." He smirked at me I walked to the other side of him and squeezed his butt and it was so cute. I ran my hands over the cheeks wishing it was naked.

I went back around and wrapped my hands around the prize. His package. My hand grasped around it and he moaned. I felt his penis growing harder by my touch. I wanted to rip off his pants and suck it… But I couldn't. I wanted to use magic to tie him up to my bed and fuck him senseless… But I couldn't. I backed away and stared at Randy.

"Thank you." I muttered.

"Your welcome." He nodded. "Am I forgiven?"

I chuckled. "Yeah. If you'll excuse me I kinda need to… Uh…"

"Jerk off?" Randy chuckled at me.

I blushed a deep red and nodded. "The bathroom's all yours." He nodded towards the bathroom. I nodded back and headed there. I wished Randy would have done it for me… But hey.

You can only wish for so much in one day.

**So how was that? M rated stuff is kinda hard for me so tell me how I did. Here's what I'm going to do. If i get five positive reviews about my M rated stuff then I'll add more of that into the story later. If not, then I'll just stick to what i've been doing. Thanks for your feedback!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you guys for being awesome. Seriously, you guys made me cry. 11 reviews in 2 days on this fanfic. That is absolutely unbelievable. So as a thank you I'm updating early. Shout out to nickrockers2962, guest, yashu, other guest, s, nayaleaamber2013, r5xrauraxrydellingtonxrockliff, jorjor, quack, tmnt2012rocks, and menglain1408 for reviewing.**

** Also, I had 10 of the 11 people say they were cool with M rated stuff, and so I am going to add more later. Sorry if you don't like that.**** Honestly though it does make it more realistic. I will post a warning if the chapter's gonna be rated M.**

** Also, I made a theme song to this fanfic; I wrote it so excuse the sucky singing lol. If you want to give it a listen, the link will be posted on my bio. Thanks everyone!  
**

** I'd really appreciate it. Anyways, thanks again and enjoy the chapter!**

I had dreamed about it so long, and it came true. It was unreal. Gosh, Randy was a good friend. I mean, a straight guy going through that for me? It was just unbelievable.

I got out of the bathroom after I was 'finished' and looked at Randy. He was on his phone, presumably on Facebook or something of that sort.

I smiled at him again. "Thanks again, man. You have no idea how much that meant to me."

He shook off his awkwardness and slightly smiled. "Your welcome. Just don't tell anyone at school about it." He chuckled jokingly.

"I'll try to resist." I laughed and closed my eyes. I imagined my dream world. Randy was gay, I was gay. We lived together and no one judged us. Everyone understood us. We could be whoever we wanted to be and no one cared. It would be absolutely amazing, but it was pretty unrealistic.

Randy looked at me. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." I blushed slightly hoping he wouldn't notice.

"It is something. What?"

"I was just thinking about what just happened." I lied, and thankfully he bought it.

"Yeah, well now I have something to bribe you with if I ever want something."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Ha ha." I muttered. He laughed and eventually I joined in.

"Hey man, I gotta go." I nodded towards the door. "Is it okay if I maybe take the car again?" I added weakly, kind of embarrassed that I had ever brought it back.

"Sure." He smiled and I walked out the door. I was considering telling Justin what happened, and eventually decided to. I mean, come on! I had to tell somebody.

I drove to Justin's apartment and walked into it. He looked over at me.

"Where've you been?"

I smiled. "Randy's."

"Oh, what did you do there?" He asked, completely clueless. I had never actually told Justin that I liked Randy, so I guess he had no reason to be suspicious.

"I never told you this," I started. "But I like Randy. Like, as more than friends."

"Oh." Justin took it in. "Okay, but what does that have to do with-"

"He let me have some fun with him." I said and then regretted the word choice. It sounded like we had sex.

"Wait a second. You did it with Randy? And he was okay with that?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, no. I mean he just let me feel him up a little bit."

Justin breathed a sigh of relief. "That still is kind of disturbing, but much better. How was it?"

"Better than I expected." I replied. "And I expected it to be awesome."

"Well that's good, then." He nodded at me. Suddenly his phone rang. Justin picked it up and looked at who it was. He gave a disgusted look and put it back down.

"Wow, who was that person you hate so much?" I chuckled. "An ex girlfriend?" He looked at me.

"No, it was Dad." My eyes widened.

"Dad? Why didn't you answer him?"

"Because he's being stupid and he doesn't deserve my love and support."

"But he's your father!" I protested. "And I know it sucks what he's doing to me but that doesn't have to affect you."

"But I want him to realize that he shouldn't be acting like this."

"And I don't want him to pretend to love me again in order to get you back." I returned. He looked at me sharply and then his eyes softened.

"Okay, I can see that."

"Then call him back!" I pressed.

"Okay." He nodded solemnly. He clicked a button on his phone and it rang once. Then a voice picked up.

"Hello?" I heard Justin say.

I could hear an excited voice through the phone. Justin wasn't the same as he used to be with Dad, but he did answer the questions, or so it sounded like. Justin put the phone on speaker and shushed a finger over his mouth, indicating that I shouldn't talk.

"So how's Max doing?" My dad asked and I couldn't help but let a tear run down my face.

"Do you really care?" Justin returned and I heard Jerry stutter.

"Justin… I don't want him to die or anything. I just can't live with him while he's like this."

"While he's like what? While he's being who he actually is? Because Dad, I guarantee that is not going away."

"Being gay is a choice Justin-"

"No it's not!" I screamed. I immediately placed a hand over my mouth and Justin looked at me in surprise.

"Max?" Dad asked me.

"Hang up! Hang up!" I yelled, tears rushing down my face. Justin did and I sat there sobbing. Justin wrapped me in a hug.

"It's gonna be okay, little guy. It really will."

** So there it is. I hope you liked it and please review. Again, here's the link to the song I wrote as a theme song to this story. Please check it out! The link is on my bio!**

** Thanks guys, I love reading your reviews!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys. Have I ever told you guys how amazing you are? Because you're amazing. Seriously. 9 reviews? Are you serious? That's amazing. I love you guys so much. Thanks to r5rauraxrydellingtonrockdelx, menglain1418, lifelesskid, guest, tmnt2012rocks, otaku001, jorjor, cicimumi, and guest for reviewing. Man, that's crazy. On my other fanfic, 'Unlikely Romance,' the most reviews I got for a chap was 6, and that was a JALEX, the most popular pairing. And this one got 9 this chap, and the last chap I got 11? You guys seriously amaze me. Anyways, here's chapter 11 and enjoy. :)**

"I'm really sorry, man. That would be so hard." Randy looked at me sincerely and I blinked rapidly, trying not to cry.

"I haven't seen Alex in so long… I miss her so much. I miss my dad too. Maybe he's wrong about some things and maybe he said some hateful things but I can't help but miss him so much."

"Yeah… Hey Max?"

"Yeah?" I closed my locker and faced him.

"I broke up with Julie today."

I looked at him in surprise. "Why?" I asked.

"I just… I didn't feel like it was meant to be."

"And there's no particular reason?" I asked, skeptically. I felt like there was more to the story than what he was telling me.

"No."

I gave him a confused glance before nodding, pretending like I believed him. What was up with him?

The rest of the day came and went and I drove home, not even- Wait. Did I just call Justin's place home? I didn't mean to. It was just, after living there for awhile it just kind of felt like it was my home.

Anyways, I drove to _Justin's _and walked inside, expecting to see Justin sitting on the couch. And he was. Except, someone was with him.

"Alex?" I looked at her in shock.

"Maxie!" She looked at me. "Wow, you've gotten even taller since the last time I saw you."

"Alex?" I repeated. "Wha- What are you doing here?"

Justin spoke up. "Alex wanted to talk to you again but Dad would never let her. He thinks that she's at a movie with some friends right now."

"Alex!" The excitement rushed through me and I ran up and gave her a hug. "I've missed you so much."

"I'm missed you so much too, Max." Alex smiled at me. We broke apart and Alex smiled at me.

"So how are things going?"

I smirked. "They're going."

She laughed. "Not so good?"

I thought for a moment. "I mean, better than they were a couple months ago when I left… But it's still pretty crappy."

"Yeah, I'll bet. What about school? Have you… You know."

"Came out yet?"

She nodded meekly.

"No." I responded. "Not yet. I still don't know if I ever will. I can barely handle right now, it would be 100x worse if I came out."

"In some ways." She agreed. "But in some ways it would be 100x better."

I looked at her. She had a point. People would like me for me. Not for who I pretended to be. I could walk around with a smile on my face knowing that everyone who saw me saw the real me. But then again, if I came out, I'd get a ton of hate… Even from people I don't even know. So that would suck… A lot.

Did the benefits outweigh the suckiness? I didn't know, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna come out until I figured it out.

I gave Alex a look. "True, but I don't know if it'd be worth it."

Alex decided to drop it. "What about Randy? Has he turned gay for you yet?"

I blushed red and then glared at Justin. "You told Alex that I liked Randy?"

Justin laughed. "It may have came up."

I rolled my eyes and punched Justin in the arm. He continued laughing anyways.

Alex smiled. "Seriously though. Is that awkward for him or you?"

"Uh, at times I guess. I mean, we kinda got over it though."

"Well that's good at least."

I shrugged. "Yeah. I kind of still have a lost hope that he's gay or bi or something, but that's not likely.

"Hey, don't rule it out." Justin reassured. "I mean, he let you feel him up, right?"

I blushed, yet again. "Well, yeah. But he was just doing it to make it up to me."

"Maybe, but I can't think of a straight guy who would let another guy feel him all over just to make it up to the other person." Alex pointed out.

I thought about it. Could Randy actually have feelings for me? No. I couldn't let myself think that. I couldn't let myself hope.

"Maybe you're right." I said, hoping they would just drop it. But Alex, being Alex, didn't.

"Seriously bro, he may be hiding his feelings. I mean, even you did it for awhile." She pointed out.

That was true, again. Randy might like me…. No. Stop. Randy isn't gay. He likes girls. He's liked countless girls.

Bi?

_ Shut up! _I told myself. If I let myself believe that I had a chance with Randy, it would lead to too much heart break if I was proven wrong.

"Looks like you're thinking about it." Justin chuckled. "What are you imagining?"

Alex and Justin laughed again, and I blushed. "Did you guys just wanna make fun of me?"

Alex chuckled. "That's what siblings are for." I sighed. I loved them so much.

We continued talking for awhile and soon Alex had to leave.

"Bye, Max." She said, giving me a hug.

"Bye." I looked at her. "When will I see you again?"

"Soon." She reassured.

I watched her walk out the door and sighed. I missed her so much.

**Aw. :) I wanted Max to see Alex again. Anyways, please review and thanks. :) Also, special thanks to those who listened to my song I wrote. I appreciate the positive feedback I got in the PM's. Bye guys!**


	12. Chapter 12

**You guys continue to amaze me. :) 10 reviews! Thanks to otaku0001, menglian1408, nayaleamber2013, mrebeccan, tmnt2012rocks, guest, cicimumi, midnightwolf191, guest, and jorjor for reviewing. Anyways, enjoy this chapter. :)**

"It was great, man." Max smiled, bigger than he had in awhile. "I missed her so much, and I finally got to see her."

"That's great, dude." Randy nodded. "Things are looking up, aren't they?"

I thought about it. "You know, in a lot of ways, things are getting better. It's sure as hell better than when I left."

"Well, yeah." Randy smiled as he readjusted his binder in his hand. "Back then I didn't even know you were gay."

"Yeah. You have no idea how hard it was to keep that a secret from you."

"I'll bet. I understand why you didn't, though."

"Yeah. I really wish I would've told my dad sooner, though. Maybe he would've forgiven me by now, and things would be better."

Randy stopped me and put both hands on my shoulders. "You do not have to be forgiven for anything. You did not do anything wrong in this situation. It's your dad that needs to apologize, not you."

I smiled at him. "Right. It's just sometimes I feel like it's my fault." He let go of my shoulders.

"Don't think like that Max. None of this is your fault."

"Thanks Randy."

"It's the truth." He smiled at me and I smiled back. I seriously wished, in that moment especially, that we were more than friends. Then it would be okay for me to kiss him right then. But it wasn't, so we just walked separately to our classes.

After school I walked into Justin's place and saw him on the couch, as usual.

"Hey Max."

"Hey Justin." I walked up to him. "How was your day?"

"It was fine. How about yours?"

"It was good. I really wanna see Alex again, soon."

"Yeah. Hey, maybe you could go home for a little visit?'

"What?" I asked him, confused.

"You know, go home for a little bit. Try to talk to Dad. See if he responds."

"Uh… No. There's no way that Dad would accept me. Besides, I'm not ready."

"Well, you're gonna have to talk to Dad eventually. Might as well do it now."

"Are you kidding me Justin? Did you see the way Dad reacted last time we talked, or even on the phone?"

"Yeah. But you gotta man up Max. Face your fears. Talk to Dad."

"Excuse me? Don't tell me to 'man up." I've got a lot going at the moment. I don't need you telling me what to do."

"Yeah, well nothing's gonna get better if you don't do anything about it."

"Give me some time Justin! Do you have any idea what I'm going through right now? No, you don't. I'm dealing with one thing at a time and you can't tell me what to do."

"Yeah, well you're living under my roof, causing me problems, so you probably should do what I say."

My mouth gaped open. "Well if I'm that much of a burden…."

"Max…"

"No. I'll just be leaving." I ran out the door and into the car.

** Justin's POV**

Damn it. Okay, maybe that was kind of insensitive what I said, but seriously. He can't just not do anything. If he doesn't do something, nothing's gonna get better! But still, I shouldn't have said that. At least I knew Max wouldn't be gone forever. I mean, he left all of his stuff here, he had to come back. But I was worried; where was he going?

** Max's POV**

How could Justin say that? I knew he was just trying to look out for me, but gosh! He couldn't tell me what to do. I wasn't ready to talk to my dad yet! He wouldn't accept me yet! I pulled into Randy's driveway and ran in the door. I ran up to his room.

He looked up from his laptop.

"Max? What are you doing here?"

I explained to him the whole story of what had just happened and he nodded in understanding.

"Okay, I can see where you're coming from, but you know he's just trying to take care of you, right?"

I sighed. "Yeah. I know. But it's really not any of his business. This is my life. I'll talk to my dad when I'm ready."

"Okay, so tell him that. He's not thinking straight. But you gotta think how hard this is for him too. I mean, it would be a lot to take in to suddenly have your brother living with you. You'd feel like you need to protect him and help him."

I sighed again. "That's true." I smiled. "How do you always know what to say?"

"I'm just awesome like that." Randy joked, and I laughed.

Without Randy in my life, I didn't know what I would do. I needed him to be mine. Even if it was just my friend.

**There's chapter 12. :) hope you enjoyed and please review. Thanks you guys, love you.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Thanks to all the amazing reviewers! Shout out to midnightwolf191, queenofstalkers, lifelesskid, (your review made me cry, thank you so much) nayaleamber2013, menglian1418, tmnt2012rocks, and sarah for reviewing. 'Sarah' has asked if I would update you guys on my life, so at the end of the chap I will. **

**Warning! This chapter is M rated! Even more than the last M rated chapter. So, be warned, lol. Sorry if you don't like to read M rated stuff but I honestly think it makes it more realistic. And plus, it's hot. haha. But seriously, sorry if it offends you.**

"I'm sorry Max." Randy announced suddenly.

I looked at him in surprise. "Why?"

"I'm sorry you have to do this. I'm sorry you're gay. I'm sorry you like me but I can't be with you."

"Randy, none of those things are your fault." He didn't need to apologize.

"I just feel so bad. You have been going through so much, and you deserve something for it."

"Randy-"

"No. Dude. Have me. Okay? Release some of your frustrations out on me. Do what you need to do. You deserve it, man."

I looked at him in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," He gulped. "You do what you did last time. Except I'll let you do more."

I suddenly got super excited imagining this. "What, so you mean I can kiss you and stuff?"

"Yeah." He looked down. "I want you to enjoy yourself."

"Randy, you don't have to-"

"But I want to! If someone had to go through have the shit that you have to go through than they deserve at least what I'm about to give."

I looked at him. He looked uncomfortable, angry, and sympathetic.

"Well I'm not gonna say no." I said. "But are you sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Alright then." I walked up to him and pressed my lips against his. I had imagined this moment so many times in my head, and it was better than I expected. I tugged on his shirt as a sign that he should pull it off. He did, and I stepped back, admiring him. My hands traveled around his stomach and then I grabbed his biceps and squeezed, rushing into another hot kiss.

I pulled away. "You're amazing." I moaned.

He nodded. "You deserve it." And he pulled down his pants. He was staring at me in just his boxer shorts. I had seen him like this before, but him doing it for me just made it all the better.

My hand grasped around his package, and then to his dick. He moaned and his head lulled back. It was probably one of the top 3 hottest things I had ever seen him do.

"Can you pull down your boxers?" I asked, hesitantly.

He hesitated, but nodded. "Sure." He pulled down his pants and I stood in awe. He was gorgeous. I met his lips in a hot kiss again and moved us towards the bed. I pushed him onto it and laid him on his back.

"Is it okay if I jerk you off?"

He nodded, and I wrapped my hand around his naked dick. He moaned at the feeling, as did I. I pumped up and down and eventually he made sputtering noises and he came.

I looked at him in awe. He stood up and wiped himself off with an old shirt before turning to me.

"Want me to do that to you?"

I nodded, awestruck and laid on his bed, removing my pants. His hand wrapped around my dick and I could tell he felt really awkward and maybe even grossed out, but I didn't care.

He pumped and pumped and the whole time I was in shock that Randy was doing this to me. Randy, the guy that I always dreamed would be mine was jerking me off. I came, and then I cleaned up. He looked at me and I looked at him.

We put our clothes back on and I gave him a hug. "Randy, you're the best friend a guy like me could have. What kind of guy would go through that for me?"

"Max, I'll do anything for you. You know that, right?"

I nodded happily, tears were starting to form in my eyes. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend than you."

"Thank you. But honestly, it wasn't that bad. Not as good as with a girl, but a body is a body, right?

"Right." I smiled at him.

"Now, go fix things with Justin. He cares about you."

"I will. Thanks again, Randy."

"Your welcome, man, Anytime you need something like that, I'm here."

"You're the best."

"Yeah, I know." We both chuckled and I walked out to the car. Wow! I couldn't believe what I had just done with Randy.

I hopped into the car and drove out of the driveway.

And he said I could do it again, anytime I wanted. What kind of straight guy would do that for me?

I thought about what had just happened. What kind of _straight _guy…

Maybe Randy wasn't straight. I mean, seriously. He jerked me off, let another guy kiss him, and offered to do it again.

Maybe Randy was just being a good friend. But now I allowed myself to hope.

"Maybe Randy does like me." I said aloud.

**There you go. :) Now for an update on my life. I still haven't came out. I just feel like I can't. I don't think my parents will understand. I want to find one friend who I can trust and tell them. I feel like I need one person I can be completely honest with. I just feel like I don't have a good enough relationship with anybody to be able to do that. I do have good friends, but I just don't know if they'd understand. :/ I don't have any classes with my crush this year which sucks. We didn't talk much anyways, but not seeing him at all really sucks.**

**So yeah, there's a quick update. If you want more details feel free to PM me. Anyways, please review and I'll see you guys at chapter 14!**


	14. Chapter 14

**9 reviews! Yeah! Thanks to midnightwolf191, queenofstalkers, jorjor, tmnt 2012 rocks, nayaleamber2013, lifelesskid, otaku0001, dcash, and menglian1408 for reviewing. Here's chapter 14. :)**

**Randy's POV**

Things were starting to get weird. I was starting to see Max as more than just a friend. It wasn't romance… Exactly. But it was definitely more than just a friend. Maybe I was just feeling bad for him, or maybe it was something else. I honestly had no idea. But when I went to school that day everything got even more confusing.

"Hey Randy." I looked over my shoulder to see Max walking confidently towards me. He looked strangely handsome like that, and I wished he would show that look more often.

"What's up, buddy?" I smiled at him casually. What was up with _me_?I shouldn't be having these weird feelings towards Max.

"Not much. Wanna hang out after school today?" Max asked.

"Yeah, sure." I blinked twice, looking at Max confused. I wasn't gay. I knew that for sure. So what was happening to me?

"Are you okay?" Max looked at me worriedly and I quickly nodded my head.

"Never better." I lied.

"No. I think I know what's going on." Max nodded and I looked at him worried.

"You do?"

"Yeah." He said, and I held my breath. "You're still shook up from your break up with Julie."

I sighed in relief. "Yeah. That's it."

"Man, it's okay. I'm still not sure why you broke up with her, but if you had a good reason, you don't need her."

Truthfully, I had broken up with Julie because I was starting to feel something peculiar towards Max. It wasn't necessarily sexual, (although recently it had gotten more and more) it was more emotional. I just felt this strange, unbreakable attachment to Max that I never wanted to go away.

I wanted to be with him my whole life. After everything we'd been through and were still going through… I needed to be with him.

But how was I supposed to tell him that? I couldn't just come out and say it… I mean, I could; it would just cause to much confusion for everyone, including myself.

I was kind of still trying to deny everything, but I couldn't do that for much longer. The feelings were becoming way too real.

It was almost like… He was a part of me. Without him, I just didn't feel like I could be me.

"Well thanks." I sighed.

"Why are you still upset?" Max asked, concern dripping from his face.

I needed his advice. But how was I supposed to word this without telling him it was about… Well, him.

"So there's this person…"

"Okay…"

"And they're really important to me. I'm starting to feel something more than just a friend toward them. I just don't know if it's romance or not."

Max looked clueless and I sighed in relief. He didn't know that I was talking about him.

"Well if this girl is really important to you and you feel something strong towards her, I'd say it's probably romance."

My heart panged at the word 'girl'. I wasn't gay, so why was I feeling like this towards Max?

"Yeah, you're probably right." I nodded quickly. "Hey, I gotta go to class. See ya."

"Okay, bye." Max walked away from me and I shook in terror.

What were these feelings I was having? The rest of the day went by slowly, as I was trying to consider my feelings.

Max was a guy. I couldn't like him.

But I was starting to feel something towards him. Something more than just a friend. And recently he had begun looking more and more attractive in my eyes.

But I liked girls! But I liked Max.

_ Man, this is freaking messed up. _I thought as I walked out of the school building after a long day.

Max walked up to me and I grimaced. I needed to get my feelings in order before I told him anything.

"My house or yours?" Max asked me.

Oh yeah, I was supposed to hang out with him. But I couldn't. "Uh, sorry man. Can't. Got a family… thing."

"Uh, okay." I walked away leaving a confused and probably hurt Max..

I didn't want to hurt him, but I couldn't talk to him when I was like this. Things were too messed up.

I needed to figure out what the hell was going on.

**So Randy's starting to feel something towards Max. What do you think will happen? I love to hear predictions. Anyways, thanks to all the people who PM'd me and anyone else feel free to PM me I'll always answer within 24 hours. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! You broke the record for the amount of reviews in one chapter. 12! Yay, thanks guys. Thanks to queenofstalkers, nickrockers2962, guest, menglian1408, tmnt 2012 rocks, boobear4997, holbycity, maridu, jamaya238, dcash (loved your ideas, might use them if that's okay), kakarotTheDoctor, and jorjor for reviewing. I'm glad you all like the whole 'Randy's POV,' thing. I didn't know how well that would go over. Anyways, here's chapter 15!**

** Justin's POV**

I was busily doing my massive amount of English homework. Ugh. Colleges gave way too much homework. I never thought I would say something like that.

I was interrupted by a familiar noise.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I looked up and stared at my phone, wondering who was calling me.

It was my dad. I inwardly groaned before grabbing the phone. Max said he wanted me to try to be friendly with him, but it was just so hard. But, if that was what Max wanted, that's what I would do.

"Hello?" I tried to sound cheery in the phone, but it didn't really work.

"Hey Justin."

"Hey dad." I said softly. "Hey, I can't talk right now. I got a bunch of homework, and-"

"No, Justin. You'll want to hear this."

I paused, and he continued.

"I want to come visit Max."

I fumbled back. "What?"

"I want to come visit Max." He repeated. "I miss the little guy."

"Well…." I didn't know what to say, I was still in shock. "Sure. When do you wanna come?"

We continued talking for awhile and soon it was all set up. The only problem was, I had to talk to Max about it...

** Max's POV**

I was at school when I got a text from Justin.

_** Hey you busy? I gotta talk to you.**_

I rolled my eyes. He couldn't just act like things were better between us now.

_** Uh sorry im busy.**_

He responded shortly.

_** Max I know your still mad at me but u need to hear this.**_

I sighed, and then went into the bathroom and called him.

"Justin, I can't do this now. I have to get to class and-"

"Max, Dad wants to see you."

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked towards the mirror. My face was turning white.

"Wha- Why?" I asked, struggling for words.

"He wants to start mending your guys' relationship."

I forgot all about my argument with Justin.

"Justin! How am I supposed to do this?"

"Max, chill. Just talk to him. He's your dad. He's still not okay with you being gay but I can assure you that you'll eventually win him over."

"Well-" The bell rang. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Max, please let Dad back in. He's said some terrible things, but I think he's truly sorry."

"I gotta go." I repeated. I hung up the phone and let out a deep breath I didn't even know I was holding. How was I supposed to talk to my Dad? It seems like it had been so long since I'd seen him. It'd only been about a month or two but it felt like a lifetime.

Back when I was living at home, that felt like a whole other life. I spent the rest of the day imagining what was going to happen when my dad came over. What would he say? What would I say?

I drove home and went up to Justin.

"Okay, dude. You can't just tell Dad he can come over without consulting with me first."

"I know…" He held his hands up in surrender. "I just really think it'll be good for you. You need to talk to him. You can't live here forever, you know."

"Yeah, I know." I paused. "So when's he coming over?"

"Tomorrow."

My mouth gaped open. "Tomorrow? You freaking kidding me?"

"Max, relax. It'll be fine."

I took a deep breath and spent the rest of the day in my room imagining what could happen. The worst scenes, the best scenes, the seemingly unrealistic scenes. Everything. I didn't want to be surprised tomorrow.

I woke up, wishing I had school to go to, so I could take my mind off of things. But no, it was Saturday.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed two eggs. I sighed dramatically because I remembered at work at the grocery store some of my co-workers had told me a rumor that some people were getting fired soon. If that was true…. Well, I couldn't let myself get fired. I needed money to buy my food….

I wouldn't let myself think about that right then. I needed to focus on the task at hand, talking to my dad.

Justin walked in. "Hey buddy. Dad's gonna be here in an hour."

I spent the hour walking around in worry and anticipation, praying that everything would go right.

Ding! Dong!

I winced when I heard the door bell. It had to be my dad. Justin opened the door and there he was, my dad, standing there.

I looked at him. He looked exhausted, and somewhat sad. He had a certain elderly look to him that he didn't have last time I saw him. Almost like he had aged a few years in a few months. I heard that's what stress can do to you. Was he stressed about not seeing me? Or was he stressed that his son was gay?

"Hey Justin."

"Hey dad." My brother and my dad had their formal greeting, and then Dad turned to me.

"Hey, buddy."

I looked away. "Don't say that."

"What?"

"Don't call me buddy. If you do that I'll end up thinking that you still love me. Which I know isn't true."

I was already about to start crying, way earlier than I thought I would.

"Max. I do love you, okay? I shouldn't have said what I said. I was just confused and upset about you being…" He gulped. "Gay. And honestly, I'm still confused about it. I just don't get why you'd choose this lifestyle."

"But that's just it." I held back the tears. "It's not a choice. I didn't choose to be like this. I just am."

"But, how can that be? Why would God make you like this?"

"I…" I didn't have an answer. "I honestly have no idea. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm gay and I can't change it. I've tried so many times."

"But-"

"Dad." I interrupted. "You have no idea how many nights I've stayed up, here and at home, fantasizing about girls. I just tried to get myself to like the idea of being with a girl. But, it never satisfied me. I never felt any attraction towards girls. It's not that I don't want to. Because I would still, to this day, give anything and everything to be straight. But…." I looked at him. "I'm not."

He looked at me. "Is that really true?" He looked like he was about to cry now.

"Yeah." I whispered.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you." He concluded.

After that long, emotional rollercoaster, me and my dad simply caught up, laughed and just talked. It was really great, and I really missed talking to him. He told me he wasn't ready for me to move back home just yet; honestly I wasn't ready either. But we were getting there.

One day at a time.

**:) So things are getting better. Hope you guys enjoyed and reviews are appreciated. Love you guys. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! Thanks to midnight191, queenofstalkers, jorjor, cicimumi, tmnt2012rocks, menglian1418, dcash, and ds13 for reviewing. Here's what I want to tell you. I've gotten PM's and review suggestions about where they want Randy and Max's first time having sex to be. (If they even do have sex, which knowing me they probably will, lol) So I made a poll on my profile so you can vote. :) Just go to my profile and click the VOTE NOW button and you can vote. Whichever place wins will be the place they have sex the first time. So, yeah. Just putting that out there. Go vote! Anyways, chapter 16!**

Things were looking up, and I was getting excited. Very soon, things could be back to normal, or almost back to normal. Things were getting weird with Randy. Like, he would act nervous when he was talking to me, or he would make up stupid excuses as to why we couldn't hang out.

I had tried ignoring it, but it was getting super irritating now. What was up with him? What could be happening to him that he couldn't talk to me about? I decided that I needed to bring it up. No matter how weird or bad it was, things would be okay. I mean, there's nothing he could say that would catch me completely off guard.

Justin noticed me wondering, and turned to me. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." I sighed. "It's just that Randy is acting super weird. Like he gets all nervous around me and stuff."

"So kinda like how a person would get when they were around their crush?" Justin chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and tried not to blush. "Justin, it's not like that… It's just he… Well, I guess it is kind of like that."

Justin laughed.

"But that doesn't mean it's about that!" I defended. "Randy likes girls, I'm sure of that."

"Maybe he likes guys too." Justin answered. "Or maybe there's just something special about you."

"Or maybe you're misinterpreting the whole situation." I added.

"Possible." He agreed. "But seriously. The things that you guys have done together, plus the way he's acting now… Don't rule the option out. Maybe he's gay for you."

"That would be great, but I don't know, man."

"Why don't you talk to him about it?"

"Yeah, I'll just go up to him and ask him if he likes me." I said sarcastically.

Justin shrugged. "Why not?"

I gave him a 'duh' look. "Because, I want him to admit it for himself."

"Okay… But at least give him a subtle nudge. If he did like you, he would probably be super scared to tell you."

"Why? I like him too."

"Because he's been denying you for the last month and how awkward would it be to randomly tell you that he likes you?"

I hadn't thought of that. "Okay, that makes sense I guess."

"Yeah. So talk to him. Try to get him to admit everything to you."

"If it's even true." I added.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Right. If it's even true."

I thought about it. I would wait a little while longer and hope he would bring it up. If not, I would.

** Randy's POV**

All hopes that these feelings would just go away were gone now. I definitely felt something for Max that a straight guy wouldn't feel. I was even starting to like him sexually too. Like when I saw him without a shirt now, I wanted him. Kind of like the way I figured he felt towards me.

Max had turned me gay. I didn't know if that was even possible. Maybe it wasn't gay exactly, it was just Max. Like, I wouldn't really want to do anything with another guy. Just Max. He was my best friend, but I wanted him to be my boyfriend.

Gosh, that was so weird to say. But it just felt so right.

Ring! Ring! Ring! It was Max.

Crap. I answered the phone. "Uh, hey Max."

"Hey Randy, I was just wondering…. What's up?"

"Uh, not much. Just enjoying my Saturday afternoon."

"Oh… Do you wanna hang out?"

"Uh…." I couldn't keep saying no or else Max would get super suspicious. But I couldn't say yes… "Sorry, I'm a little busy."

"Enjoying your Saturday afternoon?"

I sighed. "Max…"

"Randy, what the hell is going on?"

"I just can't talk about it right now."

** Max's POV**

"What? What could possibly so bad that you couldn't tell your best friend?"

I felt a little bad for pushing Randy this much, but honestly in the moment I was getting really annoyed. He just needed to tell me.

"Max, please don't make me tell you right now. I'll tell you, just not now, okay?"

I sighed and decided to give him a break, because obviously he was really torn about this. "Okay."

I heard him sigh through the phone. "Thanks Max."

"But Randy, I just want you to know that no matter what this huge secret is, I will not quit being your friend, and it won't affect our relationship at all."

"Thanks Max."

"I'm serious. Remember that."

"I will. I gotta go, bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone.

I wish he would just tell me what's going on. Hopefully it was that he liked me. But no matter what the secret was, I was being serious.

It wouldn't affect our friendship.

**Thanks for reading, and again, please go vote! On my profile :) Reviews are appreciated and see you next chapter. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

So oh my gosh! Sorry this isn't an update but I just came out to one of my good friends today and oh my gosh im so excited! She was completely understanding and wow. This just feels so good. i finally have someone to talk to... Sorry guys, just had to tell you :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! Thanks to menglian1408, queenofstalkers, tmnt 2012 rocks, r5xrauraxrydellingtonxrockdelx, jorjor, nayalamber2013, otaku0001, sarah, kakarotthedoctor, and mrebbeccan for reviewing. And thank you all so much for the congrats about me coming out to my friend. I've never been happier. Also, thanks for those who've voted on my poll. If you haven't, go freaking do it! Thanks guys, here's chapter 17.. Or 18 I guess because of my 'coming out chapter.' lol**

"Yeah, Dad. Talk to you later."

"Bye, son."

I hung up the phone and grinned, things were going so much better with Dad, I felt like soon things were gonna be okay. I was looking forward to the day when I would walk into MY house and go into MY room and sleep in MY bed. That was gonna be so awesome.

"So things are going better with your dad?" Randy came up behind me in the school hallway.

He was still kind of acting weird, but at least he was talking to me somewhat normally again. He still wouldn't tell me what his secret was, though.

"Yeah, things are getting better." I couldn't help but grinning again.

Randy smiled. "I'm happy for you, man."

"Happy enough to tell me what your big secret is?"

Randy suddenly looked awkward. "No, Max."

"Randy… It doesn't matter what it is. You're still my best friend."

"This isn't just a stupid secret."

"And I don't care. I told you I was gay. Is it bigger than that?"

"Uh, sorta. Not really I guess." Randy fidgeted nervously.

"Then why don't you freaking tell me?"

"Because… It's complicated."

"Randy…."

"I gotta go Max." Randy walked away hurriedly and I sighed in agitation. Why wouldn't he just say it?

If he liked me or if it was something else, I was always gonna be there for him. Why wouldn't he just realize that?

I tried to forget about it, and focused back on my dad, and how things were going great. I would finally be able to go home. It felt like it had been years; honestly I had kind of lost hope that I was ever gonna go home. Now, that hope was back and stronger than ever.

And Alex. I missed her like crazy. I had only seen her once since I left and it was killing me. Sometime I needed to hang out with her again.

I felt like I had grown up in these last couple of months more than I could've in years at home. I had realized that things didn't always go your way, but if you set your mind to it then things could get better.

There was a little while to go, but I was getting there. Besides, with Randy by my side, I would be able to get through it piece of cake…

Aw, damn it, I was thinking about Randy again. I needed to clear my thoughts.

After school I had work, which wasn't exactly something to look forward to, but hey, money is money. I was still thinking about that rumor that James, my boss, was going to fire people due to budget cuts. I seriously hoped it was just a rumor because I sure as hell couldn't pay for food without that job.

I stopped thinking about it and went on the rest of the day at school. It was a pretty typical day really: math quiz, English essay, Spanish homework. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until work.

"Max, can I talk to you for a minute?" James called out to me as I was placing canned fruit onto the shelves of the store.

"Sure James." I acted confident but I was super nervous. Why did James want to talk to me alone?

"Max, there's something I have to tell you…"

Oh crap.

"You're doing a great job and everything… But…. Well, you know about the budget cuts due to the lower profit we've been making?"

"Yeah." I nodded at him.

"Well, because of that, I have to let people go. People being… You."

Time was frozen, I'm positive it was because that moment when he said that felt like forever. His words echoed in my ears and I stood there, not moving.

"Max?"

I focused back towards James. "Um… Sorry. Okay. Can I ask 'why me?'"

"You do a great job Max, but I just can't afford to have you on this staff. It's not only you, but we need to save the money for the main cashiers and the assistant manager. I'm sorry Max."

"I don't believe this." I muttered quietly.

"Max, I'm sorry. If you can find another job, I'll put in a good word for you, I promise."

"Well thanks." I said.

"So after these next two weeks, you need to leave."

I nodded, trying not to cry. What was I going to do? This job had been literally keeping me alive. And now it was gone.

Where did that leave me?

**Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated. And please go vote on where you want Randy and Max to have sex at! See you guys.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! Sorry it took awhile to update, I've been so busy with stuff that's been going on, and I've been excited. I finally can talk to someone about stuff that's going on in my life, and it's great! Anyways, thanks to tmnt2012rocks, jorjor, nayaleamber2103, boobear4997, cicimumi, and greensky551 for reviewing. Chapter 19:**

_This can't be happening, this can't be happening… _I thought as I walked out the door. But it was… What was I going to do?

I had barely been surviving with the job, how was I supposed to survive without it? How would I tell Justin? I couldn't expect him to give me money for food. He couldn't do that, he needed to spend the money on himself…. But without money, what would happen?

I could go back to my dad's probably… But we both weren't ready for that and it would just be awkward. There had to be something I could do. But before I did anything, I needed to tell Justin.

I got into the car which I had been using for months now, and drove over to Justin's place. As I walked in the door, I held my breath. How was I going to tell him this?

"Hey Max, how was work?" He looked over at me and he could immediately tell something was wrong. "Max, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

I couldn't stand it and I started crying. Justin came up and hugged me for a few minutes and then I looked up at him. "I lost my job."

Justin was dumbfounded. "What? But, how?"

"He said that he needed to let some people go because he couldn't afford to have them on the staff. But, if I don't have a job, then how…" I started crying again.

"Max, it's okay. It'll be okay, I promise."

"But what's going to happen now? How am I supposed to pay for food?"

"Max, don't worry about it. We'll get through this just like we've gotten through all of this other crap."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah." He hugged me again. I tried to relax, but despite his words I knew that he was freaking out. I mean, how was he supposed to pay for double the food randomly?

I let go of the hug and walked up to my room. I picked up the phone and called Randy.

"Hello?"

"Hey Randy."

"Oh… Hey Max." Oh right, Randy was still awkward and keeping secrets. I didn't have time for that.

"Randy, I lost my job."

Suddenly, Randy forgot about the awkwardness. "Oh my gosh Max, are you okay?"

"Not really." I admitted. "How am I supposed to pay for my own food? What should I do Randy?"

"Well what did Justin say?"

"He told me that everything would be okay and that I didn't need to worry about it."

"And what do you think?"

"I think that's a load of bull and I need to do something about it."

"Well why don't you put out some job applications?" Randy suggested, and suddenly I felt really stupid. Like, duh, why didn't I think of that?

"Oh yeah, I could do that."

"And what about James? Did he fire you on good terms?"

"Yeah."

"So just use him for a reference. There are a lot of job openings, even on Waverly place."

"You're right. Thanks Randy, you're the best." And then, the awkwardness came back.

"Um… You're welcome. Bye." He hung up the phone and I sighed. What was up with him? Then I stopped myself, and decided to deal with one problem at a time.

I went out and talked to Justin. "Hey, I know you said not to worry, But I can't really help it."

"Max…"

"No, it's okay. I'm gonna go put out some job applications."

"Yeah! That's a good idea."

"Yeah, Randy suggested it."

"Has he admitted he likes you yet?"

"No… And that's probably not even the reason. I gotta go."

"Okay." Justin smirked and I walked out the door.

I drove up to Waverly Place and looked around. What jobs should I apply for? I decided to just apply for all of them. I went from a pet store to an antique store to a Deli to a Burger King, and put out applications for all of them. They all promised to get back to me soon. I was super excited, especially about Burger King. That job actually paid better than my old one, so if I got there, I'd be able to live more comfortably.

"I'm back." I announced to Justin when I arrived.

"How'd it go?"

"Pretty good. I applied for about 10 jobs, and Burger King had the best pay, so I hope I get that one.

"I'm proud of you, Max. You've really matured since you've been here. It's probably because you're around me all the time." Justin grinned.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that's it." I laughed.

**Thanks for reading, and please review! Also, I just wanted to say there's only this chapter and the next chapter left to vote on where you want Max and Randy to have sex at, so hurry and vote! Love you guys, see you later.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys! So, it's my birthday today... Awesome! Anyways, shoutout to Amber, because she didn't believe that I actually wrote this. also shoutout to all the guests, carrcarr12, nayaleamber2013, queenofstalkers, sgwomp, tmnt2012rocks, dcash, jorjor, and menglian1408 for reviewing. Enjoy!**

School needed to end. Now. I had gotten calls back from most of the places I had applied for, and I was due for an interview at Burger King in an hour or so. I was nervous, but really excited. Mostly nervous though.

Probably because I needed this job more than anything in the world. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but you get what I mean.

This job paid so much better than all the rest, and if I got it… Well, it would just be amazing. Hopefully, I would move back in with my dad soon.

Things were getting a lot better, and we were talking a lot more. I felt like we still weren't ready, though. I mean, he said some pretty hurtful things that he could never take back, no matter how hard he tried.

I understood that he was upset about me being gay, but he didn't have to say what he said. I forced myself to forget these thoughts and focus on the improvement we were making.

Of course, my dad still didn't like that I was gay, but he was starting to realize there wasn't really anything anybody could do about it. It was just who I was. And I was proud of that person.

I just wanted to be treated the same way as everybody else. I wanted being gay to not be a big deal at all. But then again, there were a lot of things that I wanted.

I wanted my Dad to have never said those words. I wanted Randy to tell me what's been going on with him. I wanted Justin to not feel so bad about not being able to pay for my food.

All of these things would eventually come true, probably. Except the one about my dad….

I forced myself to stop thinking and tried to pay attention to the science lesson being taught. But seriously, who cared about the way protons and neutrons balance themselves out?

I found myself looking at the clock, waiting for the end of the day to finally come. It seemed like hours, but was actually only a few minutes, but it finally happened.

I heard the familiar bell whistle and the class silently (okay, maybe not so silently) cheered. The teacher rolled his eyes and went back to his desk. The students left the room promptly, and I was trying to remember if we had homework or not when Randy caught up to me.

"Hey man, your interview's today, right?"

"Yeah." I responded. I checked my phone. The interview was in 39 minutes.

"Well I don't want to keep you. I just wanted to tell you good luck."

"Thanks." Our eyes locked for a minute and it almost felt magical, surreal. But then Randy quickly walked away. I briefly considered running after him, but thought better of it.

I really needed to get to the interview. I walked out into the car that I had begun to call mine and got in. I turned the key. The car sputtered but didn't come on.

_ No, no. This isn't happening. Not today. _I tried again and it didn't work. I momentarily panicked and then I thought of something. Randy. It would be awkward, but I didn't really have much of a choice. I picked up my phone.

"Randy?"

"Uh, hey Max, what's up?"

"The car isn't working and my interview is in less than 30 minutes and I really need you to drive me to Waverly Place. Please?"

"Yeah, of course." I sighed in relief. Even when he was acting weird he always had my back.

"Be there in a minute." He said. I walked over to his car and waited. Randy came up and we got into his car.

"So how's it going?" I tried to start a conversation.

"It's okay." He responded, not taking his eyes off the road. Which, I suppose, is a good thing. Although in the moment it really wasn't.

"Please just tell me." I really couldn't take it anymore. Him keeping this stupid secret from me. Whatever it was, I didn't care. He needed to just tell me.

"Max…"

"Randy, this is ridiculous. You know I'm still gonna be your friend. Why won't you just tell me what's going on?"

"Because I can't!" Randy yelled, surprisingly loud.

We were quiet the rest of the ride, until we got to Waverly Place.

"Thanks for the ride." I said.

"Yeah." He said. I sighed and got out of the car. _That _could have gone better. But it didn't matter right now. The interview was in 15 minutes. I needed to be there in about 5, in order to look good for them.

I walked in and the lady saw me.

"Max Russo?" She questioned.

I nodded.

"Come this way." She led me to a back room, presumably the break room and I sat down.

She asked me a list of questions, to which I answered. I thought I did pretty well, and apparently so did she.

"Well, you sound pretty good. I'll talk to the manager, but it's pretty safe to say you got the job."  
"Yes!" I said, a little too loudly. I blushed. "Sorry."

"That's okay." She laughed.

I walked outside to see Randy there. "Hey Max, there's something I really need to tell you."

"What?" I asked.

He sighed deeply. "Here goes."

**So there you go! Last chapter to vote on my profile! Do it!**


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